Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-03-18
PROGRESS OF ELECTRIC LIGHT
INC


When the last census was taken, to
wit, in 1880, the census man did not con-
slider the electric lighting investment of
sufficient Importance to warrant him in
collecting the data. Capital was at that
time in condition which might be called
undecided, so far as the electric lighting
field was concerned. The great promises
that had been made for electric lighting
by i'll advised persons had not then been
realized, and the difficulties in the way
difficulties which, it should be said,
always array themselves in the path of
novel enterprises-seemed to present an
insuperable barrier to the development
which, at that time, was thoughtlessly
promised and is now being realized. We
say thoughtlessly promised because,
while such development was not an i'm
possibility IN the future, the claims that
were made of immediate profits were
absurd, and investors unfamiliar with the
field and its possibilities who had been
encouraged by these rash promises to
come in, were soon stampeded.
But there were men with brains, as
well as capital, in the electric light bust
ness. 1t was enough for them that the
prospects were bright, without that they
got an immediate profit. The demand for
the light increased as the apparatus for
its distribution was perfected, and as i'm
provement was constant, the business
grew. At first, as we have said, it was
slow, then faster, until finally it sprang
into public favor at bound, and is now
recognized as one of the best paying in
dustries. We say that its rise and pro-
gress have been phenomenal, and if any
one doubts it let him study the following
figures, which we have carefully collect
ed from the best known sources, and are
approximately correct:
Amount OF investment in voltac arc
plants in the United States on Now
i, 1856. .s37 900 900
lncandescent plant. ............ 100000
| Investment by manufacturers OF arc
and incandescent plants........... 2O,OOOOOO
| Invested in manufacturing otherap-
paratus connected with electric
light apparatus, including conduts,
cables, etc .................. 100000
| Invested in the manufacture of car
bons, about 80. ..... ............ 100000
Estimate OF the value of patents, as
made at the Patent Office by eX-
........................... 100000
Total..... ................. .....s lO7, 900 900
And how long has it taken for this vast
sum to be attracted to the electric light
ing field? Only six years. Looking at
the rate of progress, we find that from
1881 to 1882 the business of supplying
electric light almost doubled, and has
doubled year by year ever since. 1t can
not, of course, go Oh at any such rate as
this much longer, for, as we know. the
doubling process, if continued, mounts
soon into infinity.
We find that there are over $50 local
electric lighting companies in the country
today.
We have been to no little pains to col
lect data looking to reliable estimate OF
the number of arc lights now aglow in
the country, because so many conjectures
have been made and so much haphazard
guesses INDUCED in. This has not been
an easy task, because of the Discrimination
of some of the arc companies to give their
returns. From this survey we discover
that at least 125, 900 voltaic arc lights are
now lighted nightly-a very pretty show
ing truly!
In the incandescence tield,a careful esti-
mate, throwing out all figures of project,
ed installations and sticking closely to
what is really being accomplished to-day
we find that there are about 640,000 and
some odd incandescence lamps aglow to-
day in the United States.
The question as to electric lighting
popularity has always been one of econ
Omy. No one ever doubted that electric
lighting would be popular, but many did
doubt if it would ever be cheap enough
to be generally used. Happily, the cost
of distribution, the cost of apparatus and
of lamps, has become less and less yearly
indeed, we were about to say monthly
for those who are watching the move
ment have been surprised to see how
quickly one improvement has to give way
to another. Today the cost of an elec.
trio lighting plant is less than one-hali
what it was six years ago, and there is
every reason to believe that six years
from now almost an equal decrease in
cost will have been attained Electrical
Review.